In honor of Black History Month (I didn’t finish this in time), we’re taking a look at one of the many modern genres pioneered by black artists. In fact, three of America’s main contributions to the music world–jazz, blues, and funk–began as exclusively black genres. However, while jazz and blues have their roots in traditional African music or work songs, funk came along much later. Many of the most recognizable names in American music had their hand in funk music, including Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Prince, and Michael Jackson.

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This accompanying playlist features music from the bands and albums mentioned in chronological order. It’s much easier to hear the progression of the genre than to read about it!

Introduction

“Britpop” refers to a movement in the mid-90’s that produced a musical style of upbeat, optimistic pop or alternative rock music. Drawing heavily from the glam rock acts of the 70’s such as David Bowie and T. Rex, as well as other major British pop bands such as The Beatles and The Smiths, Britpop became a dominant market force and ultimately shaped much of the worldwide scene in the late-90’s.

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